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Kampala - Peace efforts between Democratic Republic of Congo
and defeated M23 rebels will continue, Uganda's government said on Tuesday, a
day after the two sides failed to sign a much hoped for agreement.

The last-minute failure to sign a deal on Monday was a blow
to international efforts to stabilise the African nation's conflict-prone east.

"Both parties are still here in Uganda... the talks
have not been officially called off," Ugandan government spokesperson
Ofwono Opondo told reporters.

Negotiations fell through after Kinshasa demanded changes to
the agreement, but despite the failure to sign, DRC Foreign Minister Raymond
Tshibanda has insisted the government is committed to peace.

Uganda, which is hosting and mediating the long running
talks, said it was expecting new rounds of talks but gave no set date.

"As and when the DRC delegation will be ready, the
facilitator will communicate a new date," Opondo said.

The M23 rebels, one of the many armed groups operating in
the mineral-rich but impoverished east of the DR Congo, have been routed by the
national army backed by a 3 000-strong special UN intervention brigade.

The UN had accused both Rwanda and Uganda of backing the
M23, a charge both countries have repeatedly denied.

With support from Rwanda notably whittled away to nothing in
the face of concerted international pressure, the M23 announced last week that
their 18-month insurgency was over.

The M23 said in a statement that the government had wanted
to revise the text that already had been agreed by the two parties, calling the
demand "unacceptable", as the agreement had been settled earlier this
month and "other stages preceding the signature had been
accomplished".

However, since that stage of the talks, the rebels had
suffered a series of crushing military defeats, changing the situation on the
ground and leaving government troops with the upper hand.

'Negotiations difficult'

The lack of a deal on Monday was a disappointment to many,
who had hoped it would be a key step towards building peace in the troubled
region.

UN special envoy to the Great Lakes Mary Robinson, UN
Secretary-General's Special Representative in the DRC Martin Kobler, and US
special envoy Russ Feingold voiced regret that the signing had not happened,
but noted that the parties involved "expressed no differences on
substantive points within the draft document".

The joint statement, also signed by African Union and EU
officials, urged all involved to resolve their differences and "remain
committed to a peaceful settlement of the conflict."

The M23, a mainly ethnic Tutsi force of mutineers from the
Congolese army, have no military leverage left and little room for manoeuvre.

A key outstanding issue is the fate of about 1 500 M23
fighters who have crossed into Uganda and whom Kampala has refused to hand over
to the DRC. Around 100 more injured rebels have crossed into Rwanda.

Kinshasa had said earlier the rebels would be dealt with
"case by case". Many rank-and-file fighters were expected to be given
the option to return to the Congolese army.

More complicated is the fate of some 100 M23 commanders.
These include M23 leader Sultani Makenga, accused of participating in several
massacres, mutilations, abductions and carrying out sexual violence, sometimes
against children.

"Any solution must allow the pursuit of accountability
for those who have committed war crimes, crimes of genocide, crimes against
humanity, including those involving sexual violence and recruitment of child
soldiers," the joint statement by Robinson, Kobler and Feingold added.

Delegations from both Kinshasa's government and the rebels
turned up Monday to Uganda's State House in Entebbe, a town close to Kampala on
the shores of Lake Victoria, but the two sides never met, only eyeing each
other through a window, Opondo said.

"Negotiating with the Congolese is difficult generally,
and negotiating for a peace agreement is even more difficult," he added.

Even if a deal is signed, stabilising eastern DRC will
not be easy, with multiple other rebels groups still operating. Previous deals
have foundered because they were not implemented or did not address underlying
problems.

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